2008 Cadillac STS-V

Competitors in the Crosshairs

It seemed like a smart idea at the time: Stuff a supercharged V-8 with 440 horsepower and 430 pound-feet of torque into the engine bay of Cadillac’s top-dog rear-drive luxury sedan, dress up the slab-sided sheetmetal a bit, and—presto!—a new Cadillac flagship: the STS- V, a more powerful, more prestigious, better-equipped big brother to the extroverted but cheaper and cruder CTS- V.

Despite its impressive acceleration (0 to 60 in 4.6 seconds), the STS- V has been unable to gain much of a foothold in the demanding segment. We place some of the blame on its still-too-tame styling but surmise that considerably more should be attributed to Cadillac’s inability to carry its message of performance to new customers in the position to drop $78,990 on a sports sedan who aren’t already infatuated with one of its prestigious, broad-shouldered (and likely German) competitors.

Sadly, we don’t see how the STS- V’s tough-sell situation could improve once the faster, better-dressed, and undoubtedly cheaper CTS- V parks its dazzling duds under the same showroom lights. To its credit, the STS wins on comfort, its slightly larger cabin not only trimmed in Cadillac’s best materials but also packed with every feature available on the STS as standard equipment. Also on the bright side, at least there shouldn’t be a wait list to order an STS- V.

How might the STS- V be able to get out from beneath the CTS- V’s shadow? We have an idea, and it involves the ZR1’s 620-hp LS9 V-8.